The Call to Rule
Four levels to ruling
- Yourself
- Small team (marriage)
- Tribe
- City
If you don’t learn to rule in the domain of the season you are currently called to, you will bring destruction into the next one.
Feelings of futility could be a symptom that I am not ruling over an area of life — something else is.
The Sacredness of Work
All work is sacred, none of it is meaningless.
Meaningfulness is found in how you do something, not just in what you do.
The Call to Freedom
Dots vs Circles: God often gives us freedom to execute his will. I shouldn’t be looking for a dot, but a general circle of where I can land and remain in his will.
Calling vs Assignments: This is a similar concept. God gives us a calling — a general gifting. A calling can have many assignments.
Calling is the gifting over your life — the wiring, the way you operate in the world.
So I should pay attention to how God has made — called — me to be. From that am I assigned my assignments.
Codes vs Kairos: Living by a code will prepare me for my kairos moment. It is the guide to my purpose. Recall Mission Statement from Seven Habits.
What’s Your Code
There is great importance for carefully and intentionally defining my code. If I don’t know my code, I will miss my kairos moment. A code is not innate — in a moment of crisis, it won’t just be summoned out of me. I must define my code, live consistently by it, and be prepared for it to be proven by greater circumstances.
The Importance of Play
Having some habitual activity that brings me life is important to avoid feelings of futility.
Play will keep me soft, curious, and nimble.
Takeaways
Futility is rooted in a lack of mastery of the self; a lack of understanding of who God made me to be, and therefore also a lack of a defined, coherent mission for myself. Purpose — God-given purpose — doesn’t just remove futility but puts me back on the court, that I would not miss the opportunities God will give me to exercise my calling.